Leeds United will look to actively add bits here and there to their squad to try and take the West Yorkshire giants to the next level this January, prolonging their push for the automatic promotion places that look slightly out of reach currently.
However, with many twists and turns still to come in the Championship before its finale, Daniel Farke’s men are still very much in the reckoning for the top two despite Leicester City and Ipswich Town, at this moment in time, setting the pace.
Farke could look to add this current Premier League defender to his Whites arsenal this month if rumours are correct, with the player in question eager to slot into his new team alongside fellow countryman and ex-teammate Joe Rodon.
Leeds transfer latest – Connor Roberts
Football journalist Darren Witcoop revealed yesterday on social media that Leeds have shown interest in signing Burnley full-back Connor Roberts, with Leeds stalwart Luke Ayling potentially heading out of the club as a result of this development.
Ayling is subject to interest from Middlesbrough, according to Witcoop, the Championship promotion chasers at peace with the 32-year-old defender leaving for the Riverside Stadium if Roberts then follows suit and relocates to Elland Road.
Roberts would be a welcome addition this January, offering Leeds another option down the right-hand side with Djed Spence’s loan being terminated recently and other options out injured.
Likewise, it would be a smart bit of business to reunite the 28-year-old with the likes of Rodon, Joel Piroe and Dan James – the quartet all playing alongside each other at Swansea City under Steve Cooper’s reign with the Welsh club, Farke wanting to get the band back together.
Connor Roberts’ style of play
Roberts would provide Leeds with a calm head at the back, not slaloming forward at every opportunity but patiently allowing his side to tick from the right-back position.
The Welshman’s main strength is his creativity playing out from defence, notching up an impressive 15 assists for the Swans in all competitions during a celebrated stay with the club with 14 of those coming in the bread and butter of Championship action.
The experienced 28-year-old played alongside Leeds loanee Joe Rodon many times during this patch of his career where Swansea would routinely challenge for the second tier playoffs, both key components to defensively resilient sides assembled by Cooper.
Roberts’ numbers in the Championship (Swansea + Burnley) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
22/23 | 43 | 4 | 6 |
20/21 | 46 | 5 | 7 |
19/20 | 38 | 1 | 5 |
18/19 | 45 | 5 | 2 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | |||
It saw Cooper openly praise his compatriot many a time, with the ex-Nottingham Forest boss going above and beyond to wax lyrical about Roberts after a 2-1 Swansea away win at Stoke City back in 2021.
Roberts helped himself to a goal on the day, with his boss at the time showering the praise post-match when mentioning Roberts’ attacking qualities which “caught the eye” whilst his defending was also typically “excellent”.
Signing Roberts – who has been praised for his “boundless energy” by The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell – would also allow Farke to play Archie Gray in a more comfortable midfield position if needed, as well as giving the 17-year-old time to breathe on occasion after becoming a fixed first-teamer recently at right-back.
The £30k-per-week machine would be champing at the bit to be reunited with Rodon if a deal got over the line, forming a formidable duo at the back again to help their new side Leeds on their way to more decisive victories in the tense promotion race.
Roberts will also hope he can share his recently attained promotion-winning wisdom in West Yorkshire and it rubs off on his new teammates, after winning the Championship title with Burnley just last campaign.
